Between the Bars
by daysandweeks
Summary: Sometimes, forced emotions are impossible. In such cases, people can be comforted by only one thing—the love, promise, and protection of another.


**A/N:** _This was written for thelightningstrike's Just Dialogue/Description challenge over at HPFC. This particular piece is just description. The lyrics in italics are "Between the Bars" by Elliot Smith._

Between the Bars

_Drink up, baby, stay up all night_

_With the things you could do, you won't but you might_

_The potential you'll be, that you'll never see_

_The promises you'll only make_

1

He wondered, when reflecting upon the night weeks later, what had made him turn his head away from the bar the moment she entered the establishment. Perhaps it was some sort of gravitational pull that drew his eyes towards her, and it was highly possible that the same force caused her to meet his gaze and hold it with a certainty that unnerved him. Though Dominique had aged, she still looked relatively similar with her long, red-gold hair and honey-brown eyes and high, freckled cheekbones. Teddy, on the other hand, looked completely different from when he'd last seen her years ago.

Yet still, she approached him and sat down beside him at the bar, ordering her drink—a gin and tonic—after a short hello as if she had seen him just yesterday. Suddenly, Teddy felt the need to pull Dominique away from the bar. She had to be barely of age. And furthermore, at twenty-seven he had frequented this bar on many evenings and knew it to be a lonely sort of place where one sought out trouble and one-night stands and forgotten evenings that culminated in crying oneself to sleep. Dominique was too young for this.

He said this, in as off-hand a manner as possible, and noticed the way Dominique's shoulders momentarily tensed beneath the thin cotton of her shirt. She stared down at her drink, swirling it slowly before returning her gaze to Teddy and blinking. She reminded him in a sober, heart-breaking tone that she was twenty-two and not a child anymore. She reminded him that the five years between them was not as drastic as it had been when they were children.

Teddy did not care what Dominique said. Twenty-two was awfully young to spend one's Friday night in such a lonely state.

_Drink up with me now and forget all about_

_The pressure of days, do what I say_

_And I'll make you okay, and drive them away  
The images stuck in your head_

2

The night came and went, as did the rest of the week. Teddy found himself returning to the bar, as he always did after work in order to forget, if only momentarily, that he had spent the past few years alone. He found himself looking for Dominique every night, though he knew it was wrong of him, and was pleased when he did not see her the entire week. However, once Friday arrived she was there again. This time he spotted her at the bar when he walked in, occupying the same seat as before, her hair pulled up in a high ponytail.

He sat down beside her and meant to chide her for returning, but then noticed that she'd been crying. Though Dominique had done a very good job at hiding her tears, Teddy still noticed a small bit of evidence—black smudges beneath her eyes from where her makeup had run.

When she began speaking of her problems, Teddy truly forgot about his for the first time in a while. Suddenly, he knew only one thing would make him happy, and that was seeing a smile on Dominique's face. And so he moved his bar stool closer towards hers and raised his hand, motioning for the bartender.

Teddy knew that sometimes it was hard to be happy after suffering, and that on such occasions, becoming numb was the quickest way to forget about any misery.

_People you've been before_

_That you don't want around anymore_

_That push and shove and won't bend to your will_

_I'll keep them still_

3

He expected her the third Friday, but he did not expect the smile on her face. He asked what had made her so happy and her response was simple. She grinned and explained that she had arrived at the bar expecting Teddy as well, whereas the first time she had met him only by chance and the second time she had not yet realized that this bar was a favorite of his.

Teddy smiled and took her hand, holding it atop the bar. He looked into her sepia eyes and saw something stirring there in the way they sparkled and shown. Her hair was down once more and fell across her shoulders. He pushed a strand away from her face and told her that he was happy to see _her_ happy.

He told her that next Friday, he wanted to take her somewhere much nicer.

_Drink up, baby, look at the stars_

_I'll kiss you again between the bars_

_Where I'm seeing you there with your hands in the air_

_Waiting to finally be caught_

4

They met at the bar and had a drink before exiting the establishment. Dominique was surprised that Teddy did not use magic to travel. Instead, he led her down the street and past a few buildings, restaurants and shops and residencies. He explained to her that he meant to take her out for a proper evening, but on his small budget, yet another bar, though fancier, would have to do.

She smiled and laughed and told him that she was not looking for anything more than a night with a friend when he stopped walking, bothered by her speech. In the moonlight, Dominique's skin was an ethereal white, her freckles standing out against it. Teddy wanted desperately to convey to her how he felt, even if he knew his feelings were, to some degree, wrong. He had broken her sister's heart. How could Dominique ever trust him?

But then he remembered how she talked to him, and how she held onto his hand as if it was her life support. She glanced into his eyes and the expression on her face became incredibly serious. For the briefest of moments, she looked away from him to stare up at the sky. Teddy's eyes followed hers as she murmured about how clear and beautiful the night was, but then his gaze shifted back towards Dominique as she sighed, dropped Teddy's hand, and threw her arms back in a stretch. When they fell to her sides, Teddy said her name, and she turned her eyes upon him, perhaps noting the almost reverent tone of his voice.

He kissed her then, cradling her head in his hands. She kissed him back immediately with deep passion. He could feel the tears sliding down her cheeks as he kissed her and he moved his lips to those, kissing away each damp drop before turning his lips to her trembling eyelids and then moving to her throat. He moved his lips to her neck and his hands to her back, which arched as she let out a quiet little moan, her hands running through his hair.

Teddy knew that sometimes it was hard to be happy and even harder to be numb. Sometimes, forced emotions were impossible. In such cases, people could be comforted by only one thing—the love, promise, and protection of another.

_Drink up one more time and I'll make you mine_

_Keep you apart, deep in my heart_

_Separate from the rest where I like you the best_

_And keep the things you forgot_

_The people you've been before_

_That you don't want around anymore_

_That push and shove and won't bend to your will_

_I'll keep them still_


End file.
